Crete starts at your doorstep

Every journey through Crete has a first step. For us, it's Ammoudara: the long sandy beach just west of Heraklion, where the city ends and the sea begins.

From here, the island opens up in every direction. Inland, vineyards and villages where life still follows the seasons. Higher up, the mountains, with Psiloritis at their heart. East and west, coves, gorges, monasteries and ancient sites that carry thousands of years of stories.

But Crete isn't only landscapes. It's the coffee at the village kafeneio, the taverna that stays open all winter, the person down the road who makes something by hand and nobody nearby knows. Every place has a soul. You find it in its people.

Why we made Ammoudara.com

We wanted to live our place as if we were seeing it for the first time, and to share it as if it were our home. We start in Ammoudara, because this is where we live and where we know the people. And we look out over all of Crete, so you can find what's worth finding, meet people like you, and support the small local businesses that keep the island alive.

What you'll read in the Journal

• Stories of people who live and work in Crete.
• Routes and ideas for days out, from Ammoudara to every corner of the island.
• Practical guides to everyday life here.
• Places worth a second look, and the Secret Gems our members share.

We choose the Journal's stories ourselves. Nobody pays to have an article written about them.

Have a story?

If you know a person, a place or a tradition in Crete we should get to know, write to us. Or share your own favourite spot in Secret Gems.

Everyone takes their place in a world that has room and time for everyone, as long as we are there.